Strategies for a rewarding meeting. Part III: Defining the Road Map.

Before closing the meeting, you should make your prospective client feel comfortable, by clearly explaining your road map. If possible, try to set targets against clear deadlines, for the first two or three steps, and try to give an estimate on the final deadline date. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Most people can accept waiting three months or more, for their new website, but they don’t like it when the deadline is not met.

The road map

Quote & quote approval

Competitors analysis, target audience analysis

Explaining – in brief – the content and functionalities

Discussing the look and feel, mood board

Defining site structure

Drawing wireframes for each page

Copywriting

Refining wireframes after feedback

Programming the website and defining the look and feel of it

Presentation of the first version website

Processing feedback

Presentation of the final version

Setting up social media channels

Final SEO fine tuning

Set up newsletter-platform and prepare first mailing

Launch website

Send out mailing, and report launch on social media

Follow up and analysis

Note

Depending on your personal work flow, the order of designing and programming can change. When starting from scratch in Photoshop, you’ll first of all design it. But, when starting from a web template, like Bootstrap, the programming/designing will happen simultaneously.

Some web designers, me included, quit the design stage in Photoshop, as it takes too much time to create all the different versions (desktop, tablet, phone). However, with a responsive template, you can see if all your changes are accepted or approved (you design it through CSS), and you see all Javascript interactivity.
I know Adobe have worked hard on it… but still I prefer a live environment. This is my personal opinion.